If you are struggling to hit consistent shots, chances are you carry golf swing problems that need correction.
But before diving into any changes, you should ensure you aren’t standing too close or too far from the ball at address.
While it can be a bad idea to self-assess your issues, finding the perfect distance to stand from the golf ball is relatively easy. Finding the right position when hitting the driver, irons, and wedges is crucial when you need to swing freely.
In my article on how far to stand from the golf ball, I’ll walk you through common problems that golfers face to get the correct length in their golf stance, and I’ll provide quick solutions to help you find the right position.
What Happens if I Stand Too Close to the Golf Ball?
Standing too close to the ball can limit the space to swing the club properly. This restriction may result in a steeper swing plane or an overly inside-out or outside-in golf club path, leading to inconsistent ball striking and directional control.
Maintaining a proper stance width can disrupt your balance while taking the club back. It may cause you to lean forward excessively, resulting in a lack of stability and difficulty maintaining your posture, causing heel shots.
Standing too close to the ball can also hinder your ability to generate power. With limited space for the club to accelerate correctly, you might struggle to achieve a full release of the clubhead, resulting in a loss of clubhead speed.
When you stand too close to the ball, you may end up making contact with the toe of the club more often, leading to erratic strikes and a loss of accuracy. It can also increase the likelihood of hitting the ground before the ball, resulting in fat shots.
What Happens if I Stand Too Far Away From the Golf Ball?
Standing too far from the ball can make it difficult to make solid contact. You may end up reaching for the ball, leading to thin or topped shots, where the club strikes the upper half of the ball or misses it altogether.
When you are standing too far from the ball, it becomes challenging to produce power efficiently. By standing far from the ball, you can fail to produce the club speed necessary to grab the distance you want from your shots.
Standing too far from the golf ball can also affect your ability to control the clubface at impact. Misusing the same process creates an open clubface position, causing shots to veer to the right for a right-handed golfer resulting in slices.
Standing too far from the ball can disrupt your posture by causing a curved spine angle. If you fail to create a proper spine angle with knee flex, you may early extend on the downswing, causing you to reach forward at impact.
This move can lead to a loss of stability and difficulty maintaining a consistent golf club plane that produces less distance on more shots.
When you stand from a golf ball with too much space from the ball, it can make it challenging to keep the club on the desired golf swing path. You might end up with an overly flat move to the ball or an inside-out or outside-in swing path, resulting in erratic dispersion.
Finding How Far to Stand From Golf Ball
Here are a few steps to finding how far to stand from the golf ball. When trying this out, do not use a golf club. Instead, mimic the positioning when you stand from the golf ball.
1. Address the golf ball
Begin by positioning each foot with a comfortable shoulder-width stance. Your weight needs to balance evenly between both feet.
Suppose you are wearing a belt buckle. Then you should feel that your upper body remains in a good position over the center. Also, the buckle works well to get your feet shoulder width and in the correct distance.
2. Extend Your Arms
Let your arms hang freely while maintaining a relaxed posture. Your hands should be directly below your shoulders once you address the ball.
This position will promote clean upper body movement when starting the golf swing.
3. Bend from the hips
From your relaxed posture, bend forward from the hips to reach the ball. By leaning forward from the hips, you create an athletic position that promotes a full backswing to help deliver consistency to your driver and iron game.
Get your knees bent with a slight flex to help you maintain a comfortable and athletic position. Keeping the knees flexed allows your lower body to create power by getting close to the golf ball at impact.
If you bend your knees too deeply, you will create a compressed stance that makes it difficult to judge how far to stand from the golf ball on the course.
4. Square the clubface with your target
Your arms should hold the golf club naturally with a straight spine angle as the butt end of the club rests roughly six inches from your waist as you stand over the ball.
Now, position the clubhead behind the ball to align with your target. This position will help you establish the right distance from golf ball while allowing your lower body to maintain balance as you stand.
5. Check your length when standing from the ball
While maintaining your posture, your hands should be able to hang comfortably and naturally when holding the club on the course.
You should be able to reach the club’s grip with a slight bend in your elbows, unlike reaching for the club when regularly standing, without feeling cramped or overly extended.
6. Take practice swings
Before addressing the golf ball, the most important thing to do is perform a few practice swings. By doing this, you’ll ensure that you’re at the proper distance from the ball and your golf swing feels comfortable and allows for a full range of motion.
Following these steps should help you avoid standing too far from the golf ball and, ultimately, help you produce more power with all aspects of your game.
Why You Should Be Using Alignment Sticks During Practice
Using alignment sticks during golf practice can be highly beneficial in finding consistency in various aspects of your game. Here’s how alignment sticks can help:
Placing alignment sticks on the ground parallel to your target line can assist in establishing proper alignment and setup.
You develop the correct starting position by aligning your feet, hips, and shoulders with the sticks. This position promotes better ball hitting and accuracy.
It would help to place alignment sticks perpendicular to the target line to mark ball positions for different clubs.
Placing a stick at the front heel, middle, and back foot positions helps ensure proper ball placement relative to your stance. This placement allows you to develop a repeatable impact position to strike the ball consistently.
Also, placing an alignment stick along your toe line and angled towards the target can provide visual feedback on your swing plane. Throughout your swing, you can check whether your club is too steep or too shallow in relation to the stick.
Remember, alignment sticks are vital when developing the same process that will help improve your game on the course.
Regular practice with alignment sticks allows you to build muscle memory for ball striking and reinforce proper alignment and mechanics when standing correctly from the golf ball on the golf course.
PRO TIP
Alignment sticks can be used on the putting green to practice alignment and stroke consistency. Placing sticks parallel to the target line helps ensure your feet and putter face are aligned correctly. This drill aids in developing a dependable putting stroke and helps improve accuracy on the greens.
Why Longer Clubs Could Solve Your Distance Problems to the Golf Ball
Playing longer golf clubs if you’re tall can offer several benefits to your game and help you find the ideal distance when you stand from the golf ball.
Longer clubs can help taller golfers achieve a more natural and comfortable posture at address. They allow for better body alignment, including the arms, shoulders, and spine.
You are more likely to make solid contact with the ball with improved posture because your club is sitting at the correct lie angle.
Since taller golfers have longer arms and a greater wingspan, playing clubs with longer shafts can complement their body’s dimensions, allowing them to find a swing plane with a larger arc.
This increased arc can generate more clubhead speed and potential distance and provide a smoother and more fluid motion.
Longer clubs can help taller players regularly strike the ball on the club face’s sweet spot. The extended length provides a more significant margin for error, reducing the chances of mis-hits and improving overall ball contact.
Contrary to the belief that longer clubs are harder to control, taller golfers often find that longer clubs provide better control and accuracy on the course, helping them hit the right spot on the face for perfect shotmaking.